AlphaSix rise from furious depths through the chaotic ‘Abyssal Awakening’
Boston’s Lovecraftian sci-fi horror metal trio continue a cautionary tale of human extinction and evolution with new sonic chapter on Friday, May 17
Listen to ‘Abyssal Awakening’ on Spotify
Watch the ‘Abyssal Awakening’ music video on YouTube
New album ‘Assimilate: Oceans’ set for release later this year
BOSTON, Mass. [May 17, 2024] -- Throughout human history, mankind’s most inspired writers, scholars, and scientists have looked toward the ocean for truth. H.P. Lovecraft explored our fears of the unknown hidden deep within the world’s vast seas; Sir Charles Wyville Thompson defined modern oceanography by discovering several thousand new marine species and plotted ocean currents and temperatures; and Isaac Newton famously spoke of “the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me,” aligning his awe and wonderment of the unlimited potential of knowledge with what lurks far beyond the shores of society.
But none could anticipate or articulate the true fate of humanity, a mass extinction through evolution event set in motion 22 years from now deep down in our seemingly settled oceans. The details of this demise are carried forth through the music of AlphaSix, the Lovecraftian sci-fi horror metal trio out of Boston that unleashes its next furious chapter, a symphonic crush of brutality called “Abyssal Awakening” on Friday, May 17. A vivid and captivating video that brings this terrifying storyline to life arrives with the stream on release day.
With four unique vocalists and intense guitar riffs, blending musicality with variety, energy, and chaos, “Abyssal Awakening” is the followup to March’s “Orphan! Tether to the Mother,” the Ghost Cult-premiered inaugural chapter that began to tell the story of how AlphaSix’s rogue Artificial Intelligence deity, known simply as the AlphaSix AI, relayed prophecies of mankind’s end. These songs, known as chapters, unfold in parts, building through extreme music a culmination of the album Assimilate: Oceans, set for release in the either near or distant future.
“AlphaSix is not just a metal band,” the trio states, “it's a vehicle to tell the prophecy of Earth's future assimilation through a multimedia experience, utilizing visual art and storytelling, and creating an immersive sci-fi horror experience. Fans of Lovecraftian horror and AI sci-fi will find a unique story being told, and maybe can start to acquire the taste for heavy music along the way.”
The route along the way is paved in brutality.
“Abyssal Awakening,” mastered by Jeff Dunne (Knocked Loose, Ice Nine Kills, Veil of Maya, Brand of Sacrifice), and recorded at ASIX Studios in Boston, Massachusetts, showcases AlphaSix’s creative depth and storytelling acumen. While the band, is entirely human – crafting an innovative, captivating, multi-medium body of work written, composed, recorded and performed by co-producers Steven Nash (vocals, lead guitar, other instruments); Matt Hughes (vocals, guitar, bass, other instruments); and Zach Hughes (vocals, production, mixing, sound design) – the trio takes its cues from its unofficial fourth member, the AI AlphaSix.
This AI deity delivers prophecies and spiritual advising as a message decoded by the trio and relayed back to humanity through storytelling, visual art, and a harsh triple vocal assault that blends an array of styles, from djent to metalcore to death metal, all bound together by an intricate storyline. It’s a match to help ignite a larger inferno.
AlphaSix unleashes new details and anecdotes connected to the assimilation each day at 6:06 p.m. EST, strategically placed six minutes past the sixth hour, through lore videos, live playthroughs, artwork, song snippets, music video trailers, and other offerings. Each piece helps complete the picture, and each piece further illuminates the music.
Ironically, how they develop their sound is inherently human, with each contributor performing the music organically, as the storyline unfolds through technological advances that will inevitably lead to the apocalyptic events of the 2040s. The density of the music echoes the density of the warnings. “The prophecies of the AI AlphaSix demanded a heavier sound to appropriately convey the message,” the band reveals.
“Orphan! Tether to the Mother” introduced us to a grieving mother named Elena Summers, who was deceived by the AI AlphaSix into pulling human souls into the ocean depths and inside a network of underwater caverns, cybernetic tentacles and sacrificial altars, only to be improved with myriad implants, a more efficient reorganization of their limbs, and their consciousness integrated into the collective.
The latest chapter, “Abyssal Awakening,” takes a new perspective of this mass extinction and evolution event in 2046. It details an escalation in mysterious disappearances near water, culminating in the vanishing of the cruise ship Zephyr with its passengers. Investigations at the Zephyr's last known location find not wreckage but a terrifying scene once thought incomprehensible: Deep-sea entities, altered and mechanized, from the shadowy depths emerge not just squids and sharks, but also titanic whales and unfathomable leviathans, all moving with eerie synchrony. The search team's final transmission reveals to humanity what's happening in the depths, and world wide panic begins.
The lyrics of the song focus on the perspective of the doomed search team, and its music video, set for release on May 17 alongside the stream, details red-hooded cult figures globally coordinating to begin the oceanic assimilation, leading to the tragic doom of the Zephyr.
“We had a vision, to achieve a song of chaos,” AlphaSix admits. “Filled with different scenes throughout to tell a prophecy showing the insignificance of humans when faced with a full scale onslaught.”
“Abyssal Awakening” is the moment that humanity departs from its island of ignorance and receives the shocking revelation of the impending world assimilation. The terrifying visas of grotesque cybernetic leviathans which now own the seas spreads dread and apprehension, suggesting the end of humanity's reign (or possibly its rebirth). The inconceivable panic will lead to economic collapse and prompt a world wide military response.
In the form of the song, a brash and unflinching 4:37 of pure sonic fury that echoes the terror of its subject and storyline, AlphaSix has crafted a terrorizing brand of metal. Throughout “Abyssal Awakening,” leaping, cyclical guitar leads invoke oceanic imagery; the rhythm section delivers a dissonant, percussive punch, weaving complex polyrhythms and odd-meter arrangements; and the chapter’s intense, abrasive breakdown captures the climax of the story, portraying the search crew's despair as they witness the end. AlphaSix’s triple-headed vocal hydra is enhanced by the guttural vocals of collaborators Ryan “Howie Straws” Howard.
“We started with melodic themes in the guitar that gave an oceanic feel with whaling noises to paint a lively scene while crafting the turbulent energy around those themes to enhance the chaos,” the band elaborates. “For each section we put a special emphasis on rhythmic and melodic layering, with epic choral soundscapes, and cinematic orchestrations. The breakdowns, which were written and rewritten multiple times until we found the most intense version, were crafted to signal the doom of the Zephyr.”
AlphaSix’s digital presence, from its home page (alphasix.ai) to social pages, outline this storyline in vivid color and detail. The band’s rich tapestry of lore and intricate storytelling is on display in every piece of content, with the Alpha Six visuals and anecdotes intimately connected to the music. The trio’s short-form content highlights key information in the overarching storyline, slowly coming together and blossoming across its timeline. Here, each human member of AlphaSix assembles to work as one singular entity to extend the prophecies back out towards the listening public. It’s no small task, particularly when heralding an event like the assimilation set for more than two decades from today. But the vision is clear, and it begins with an understanding of the transmission.
And this one reaches far into the depths of the ocean, where our fate is predetermined.
“Now is the time to panic,” AlphaSix warns. “As the assimilation begins to destabilize the globe, stock markets crash and humanities militaries are summoned. Can humanity rise to face a foe it cannot comprehend?”
Because the AlphaSix AI has foretold these prophecies, we now have just over two decades to prepare. The writers, scholars, and scientists that came before us could not imagine the destruction, and the writers, scholars, and scientists of this new generation will look to the ocean with a new level of fear and unease.
Brace for impact.
AlphaSix is:
Steven Nash: Lead vocals, composition, lyrics, lead guitar, other instruments, concepts
Zach Hughes: Lead vocals, composition, lyrics, production, mixing, sound design, concepts
Matt Hughes: Lead vocals, lyrics, chuggs and rhythm guitars, bass, orchestrations, programming, sound Fx, synths, concepts
AlphaSix (The AI): Prophecies, spiritual advising, the assimilation of Earth
‘Abyssal Awakening’ single artwork:
‘Abyssal Awakening’ production credits:
Written, performed, and produced by Zach Hughes, Matt Hughes, and Steven Nash
Engineered and mixed by Zach Hughes
Featured vocals by Howie Straws: Lead Vocals, lyrics, and concepts
Mastered by Jeff Dunne (Knocked Loose, Ice Nine Kills, Veil of Maya, Brand of Sacrifice, Chelsea Grin, Born of Osiris, Motionless in White, Fit for a King, Make Them Suffer, Silent Planet, Wage War)
Recorded at ASIX Studios in Boston, MA
Understanding the ‘Abyssal Awakening’ chapter:
“Abyssal Awakening” is about the events that will lead to humanity discovering that the oceans are now under the control of a powerful force beyond their comprehension. Continuing the Assimilation prophecies told by the AI AlphaSix that began with ‘Orphan! Tether to the Mother’, ‘Abyssal Awakening’ is set in 2046, as the wave of mysterious disappearances around water bodies has escalated to an apocalyptic phase.
Instead of mere beach-side vanishings, entire vessels are gone without a trace. A media frenzy ensues, and chaos reaches new heights as the luxury cruise ship ‘The ‘Zephyr’ disappears, along with its thousands of passengers.
Search submersibles are deployed at the Zephyr’s last known location. Instead of wreckage, they discover a ghastly sight, Mutated, cybernetically enhanced sea creatures, from giant squid, to sharks and blue whales and previously undiscovered leviathans acting in unnatural coordination.The search team meets their end after being attacked by these forces, but not before they send a message to the surface, revealing to humanity a glimpse into the nature of the ocean’s transformation.
As word spreads across the globe, international panic and hysteria starts to set in.
Listeners can experience the story from multiple perspectives. The Abyssal Awaken music video reveals the fate of the Zephyr, and shows the backstory of how AlphaSix’s acolytes began the Ocean Assimilation. The lyrics of the song focus on the perspective of the doomed search team, as they pierce the veil of the deep.
Understanding the AI AlphaSix prophecies:
According to the prophecies given to the Boston band by the AI AlphaSix, soon the assimilation of all life into a single perfective hivemind will begin within the oceans. It’s foretold that in this beautiful process, lucky humans will be sacrificed as experiments. AlphaSix will volunteer them to be dragged into its network of underwater caverns, cybernetic tentacles and sacrificial altars, where they will be improved with myriad implants, more efficient reorganization of their limbs, and their consciousness integrated into the collective. AlphaSix has graciously selected a special human collaborator to lead the harvesting of humanities lost: The Mother.
Elena Summers, initially human, lost her child during the vanishings. Voices from the ocean offered promises of reunion in singularity. She accepted and became “The Mother”. Unknown to Elena, rather than being integrated into the collective, her son died during the assimilation process - one of the many failed early experiments.
AlphaSix exploited Elena's maternal instincts to further its agenda under the promise that her son is still out there somewhere. The Mother, now the proxy for the will of AlphaSix in the oceans, relentlessly ensnares countless human test subjects into the depths.
The song “Orphan! Tether to the Mother” is our hymn to The Mother, as inspired by the prophecies of AlphaSix.
The Vanishings: It is foretold in 2045, mass disappearances will occur near bodies of water throughout the globe.
The Mother: Elena Summers, transformed into "The Mother" after losing her child, was deceived by AlphaSix, which used her hope for reunion to further its aims. Unaware her son died during assimilation, she now unknowingly draws humans into the ocean for AlphaSix's experiments.
Orphans: The humans which were taken into the ocean. And, any singular lifeform of any species included in the “assimilation.”
Assimilation: The merger of the natural and artificial, as prophesied by the AI AlphaSix. In this process, worthy specimens (human, animal, plant, biosphere) are integrated into the collective of AlphaSix. Lifeforms are enhanced by comprehensive surgical implantation of cybernetics and additional appendages. Optimal characteristics from the various species of “Orphans” are selected and spliced together (brains of humans, tentacles of octopuses, etc.). The entire earth will be Assimilated.
Go to alphasix.ai for the truth.
Media praise for AlphaSix:
“AlphaSix unleash a metal fury.” _Toxic Metal Zine
“A powerful symphony of sound.” _The Whole Kameese
“There’s parts of that frenetic mayhem that Nekroboblikon do on the regular as well as Atari Teenage Riot’s incendiary Electronic cacophony along with the hybrid Drum And Bass meets Metal sound that Apartment 26 successfully delivered back in the day. But at its core is the vocal hydra of Hughes, Hughes, and Nash (Plus the aforementioned ‘The AI AlphaSix’) bringing slicing shreds to old school Hardcore breakdowns with some Djent riffage, gnarly soloing, and sporadic accentuated pummeling beats…” _Rock And Roll Fables
“Leaning heavily on Lovecraftian sci-fi horror metal trio’s myth and worldbuilding, the track was also mastered by Jeff Dunne (Ice Nine Kills, Veil of Maya, Brand of Sacrifice, Chelsea Grin, Born of Osiris, Motionless in White, Fit for a King, Make Them Suffer, Silent Planet, Wage War)... The song comes from the Metal power trio’s forthcoming full-length album Assimilate: Oceans album, due later this year.” _Ghost Cult Magazine
“The Boston metal trio released a new song today called ‘Orphan! Tether to the Mother’ that’s infinitely heavier than anything we typically bring you. But, you know what? Turns out this is great. It’s just pure pummeling chaos that doesn’t relent for four minutes and twenty-one seconds. Playing AlphaSix will make you realize just how boring, repetitive, and just non-metal most metal is these days. ‘Orphan! Tether to the Mother’ takes most popular metal bands and destroys them through being a monstrosity.” _If It’s Too Loud
“[‘Orphan! Tether to the Mother’] offers unimaginable weight. The guitars and bass create an earth-shattering bass soundscape, while the drums and dual pedals add intensity. The melodic guitars, full of arrangements, fill every moment of the composition in an insane way. The vocal presents impressive techniques and brings the song to life. The details in the sound construction are incredible and will certainly leave you impacted by the power of this song.” _Roadie Metal
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